The Marrakesh mellah dates from the 1550's, as
noted on the door to the Jewish cemetery. Unlike
the Moslem old city or medina, the mellah has
many three story buildings towering over narrow
streets, reflecting the crowded conditions of the
many Jews who lived there until the 1960's.
Synagogues were once found on every street, but
only a few remain in operation. In the middle of
the mellah is a building that housed until
recently a synagogue and a home for the elderly.
Another synagogue is across from the jewelers
market, where several Jewish goldsmiths still
produce pendants of the hand of Fatima, which is
a symbol of good luck to both Jews and Muslims.
The Marrakesh cemetery is the site of the Jewish
saint Hanania Cohen.

In the 1950's, Jewish economic activity spilled
out of the mellah into the medina heading toward
the Jemaa El Fnaa Square. The Square is
Marrakesh's center of traditional entertainment
in the evening, with acrobats, storytellers and
snake charmers performing for thousands of
people. Nearby is the Koutoubia mosque, one of
the major architectural triumphs of the Almohads,
the 12th century dynasty responsible for one of
the worst periods of Jewish persecution. The
eleventh century Almoravide Koubba el Baroudiyn
is one of the few architectural reminders of the
dynasty that presided over the "Golden
Age" of the Jews in Spanish Andalucia and
Morocco. The Medersa Ben Yusuf, El Badi Palace
and Saadian tombs are beautiful demonstrations of
the art and architecture of the 16th century
Saadians, a dynasty that relied heavily on Jewish
traders with Sub-Saharan Africa, including
Moroccan-controlled Timbuktu, to finance its wars
against Portugal and the Turkish empire.

The rural areas surrounding Marrakesh have the
heaviest concentration of Jewish saints of
anywhere in Morocco. Demnate, northeast of
Marrakesh, is one of the few rural towns with a
well developed mellah, as well as a cemetery with
the saint David Draa Halevy. Near-by Sidi Rahal
has the mausoleum of Jacob Mahmias, called Moul Almay. South of Marrakesh, in the ancient town
of Aghbalou in the Ourika Valley, the tomb of
Saloman Ben Elhans is cared for by one of the few
remaining Berber Jews in Morocco. At the highest
point on the road to Ouarzazate, a Jewish saint,
David Lachkar (or Moulay Ighi), is buried in the
stronghold of the most powerful Berber family of
the twentieth century, the Glaoui. Home PageMeknes